HANOI (Reuters) – Police in Vietnam have arrested Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai on an accusation of bribery, the country’s security ministry said on Thursday.
Hai was detained as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoing at an oil trading firm in southern Vietnam, the police-run Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
The arrest comes amid an ongoing anti-graft campaign in communist Vietnam, under which hundreds of officials have been investigated and many forced to quit, including former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc and two deputy prime ministers.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Police on Thursday also searched Hai’s home and his office, the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, citing police.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Martin Petty)